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| The video begins as a parody of ] sequences of 1980s and 1990s American ], then television ], ], ], ], and ]. Afterwards, however, it morphs into a surreal narrative that includes ] elements, in which many of the multitude of ] introduced in the opening credits are brutally murdered by a homicidal maniac with a machete, who then proceeds to cook and eat them.<ref name="RS2">{{cite news|publisher='']''|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/videos/watch-adult-swims-too-many-cooks-20141107|title=Watch Adult Swim's Demented, Surreal Sitcom Parody 'Too Many Cooks'|first=Ryan|last=Reed|date=November 7, 2014|deadurl=no}}</ref> | The video begins as a parody of ] sequences of 1980s and 1990s American ], then television ], ], ], ], and ]. Afterwards, however, it morphs into a surreal narrative that includes ] elements, in which many of the multitude of ] introduced in the opening credits are brutally murdered by a homicidal maniac with a machete, who then proceeds to cook and eat them.<ref name="RS2">{{cite news|publisher='']''|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/videos/watch-adult-swims-too-many-cooks-20141107|title=Watch Adult Swim's Demented, Surreal Sitcom Parody 'Too Many Cooks'|first=Ryan|last=Reed|date=November 7, 2014|deadurl=no}}</ref> | ||
Revision as of 12:53, 10 January 2015
2014 American TV series or program| Too Many Cooks | |
|---|---|
 The main title screen, with a font similar to that of Full House | |
| Written by | Casper Kelly |
| Directed by | Casper Kelly |
| Starring |
|
| Composers |
|
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producers |
|
| Cinematography | Adam Pinney |
| Editor | Paul Painter |
| Running time | 11 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | Adult Swim |
| Release |
|
Too Many Cooks is a dark comedy short that originally aired as a special during Adult Swim's "infomercials" block on October 28, 2014, at 4:00 am Eastern Time. It was written and directed by Casper Kelly and produced by Williams Street Productions. After its original airing, the piece became a viral video online and was repeated each night at midnight Eastern Time during the week of November 11, 2014.
Premise
The video begins as a parody of opening credits sequences of 1980s and 1990s American situation comedies, then television crime dramas, prime time soap operas, Saturday-morning cartoons, superhero live-action series, and science fiction television shows. Afterwards, however, it morphs into a surreal narrative that includes slasher film elements, in which many of the multitude of stock characters introduced in the opening credits are brutally murdered by a homicidal maniac with a machete, who then proceeds to cook and eat them.
Development and production
According to Kelly, he conveyed the concept of the short to his Squidbillies writer-producer friend Jim Fortier, who in turn described it to Adult Swim executive Mike Lazzo, who loved the idea. The footage was filmed over a period of three days in October 2013 with a cast completely composed of extras from the Atlanta area. Post-production took a year, with Kelly recruiting friends and co-workers to help with the process.
While the video depicts the opening credits of a fictional television show, most of the cast members' real names were used. According to Katie Adkins, actors were not presented with a clearly explained script, but rather coached on the go, in a somewhat nonchalant manner.
Among the series openings parodied are Full House, Wonder Woman, The Brady Bunch, Dallas, Falcon Crest, Clarissa Explains It All, ALF, G.I. JOE, Roseanne, Family Matters, and the Law & Order franchise. The avant-garde film director Lars von Trier is referenced briefly.
Reception
Upon its release by a third party on YouTube, Too Many Cooks became a viral video, with Rolling Stone calling it an "instant cult classic".
Director Rian Johnson believed that, "no joke", Too Many Cooks should have been nominated for an Academy Award for best short. Several comedians, including Penn Jillette, Simon Pegg, and Zach Braff, as well as film director Richard Kelly, tweeted their positive reactions to Too Many Cooks.
David Sims of The Atlantic wrote that Too Many Cooks relied on "the classic anti-comedy premise of taking so long with something that it goes from being funny, to being not very funny, to being boring, to suddenly becoming hilarious again. More than that, it's an excellent piece of non-narrative sketch comedy that sets out boundaries for its own weird reality and then goes about breaking them over and over again."
References
- Donahue, Anne T (November 10, 2014). "Too Many Cooks: can you spot all the references to other TV shows?". The Guardian. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
- "Infomercials - Too Many Cooks". Adult Swim. October 28, 2014. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
- Template:Twitter status
- Reed, Ryan (November 7, 2014). "Watch Adult Swim's Demented, Surreal Sitcom Parody 'Too Many Cooks'". Rolling Stone (magazine).
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Fear, David (November 7, 2014). "'Too Many Cooks' Creator Casper Kelly on the Making of an Instant Cult Classic". Rolling Stone (magazine).
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - Ayers, Mike (November 7, 2014). "Inside Adult Swim's 'Too Many Cooks'". Wall Street Journal.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - Snetiker, Marc (November 7, 2014). "'Too Many Cooks' creator tries to explain his awesomely bizarre Adult Swim short". Entertainment Weekly.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - Boon, John (November 7, 2014). "This Is the Most Insane Viral Video You'll Ever Watch". Entertainment Tonight.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - Fox, Jesse David (November 7, 2014). "Behind the Scenes of the 'Too Many Cooks' Video". New York Magazine / Vulture.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - Sullivan, Kevin P (November 7, 2014). "Learn The Story Behind The Insane 'Too Many Cooks'". MTV News.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - Collins, Ben (November 7, 2014). "How the Bizarre Adult Swim 'Infomercial' Too Many Cooks Took Over the Internet". Esquire (magazine).
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - Goldman, Eric (November 14, 2014). "Too Many Cooks' Katie Adkins on What It's Like When Your Wacky Short Film Goes Viral". IGN. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
- Deen, Sarah (November 8, 2014). "What on earth is Too Many Cooks and why is everyone going on about it?". Metro (British newspaper). Retrieved November 16, 2014.
- Abramovitch, Seth (November 7, 2014). "'Too Many Cooks': See the Insane Viral Video Hollywood Is Buzzing About". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
- Goldman, Eric (November 6, 2014). "Adult Swim's Too Many Cooks Takes Sitcom Parody to the Next Level". IGN.com.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|work=(help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - Patrick Kevin, Day (November 7, 2014). "'Too Many Cooks' takes social media by storm". Los Angeles Times.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - Abramovitch, Seth (November 7, 2014). "'Too Many Cooks': See the Insane Viral Video Hollywood Is Buzzing About". The Hollywood Reporter.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - Grinberg, Emmanuella (November 9, 2014). "This weekend's trending video: 'Too Many Cooks'". CNN. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - Sims, David (November 7, 2014). "The Less You Know About Too Many Cooks, The Better". The Atlantic.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help)
External links
- Too Many Cooks at IMDb
- Too Many Cooks on YouTube (Adult Swim's official channel)